ENUGU STATE LEGAL SYSTEM AND PROFILE

Enugu once referred to the capital of the defunct East Central State of Nigeria until it was adopted as the name of a new State created on 27 August 1991 out of the old Anambra State  by the General Ibrahim Babangida led military dictatorship.

The capital of the State is known as Enugu City , a town which was established in 1912 as a small coal mining town, but later grew to become the capital of the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria.

Covering about 7,161km², the State is bounded by Abia and Imo States to the south, Kogi to the North, Anambra to the west while Benue and Ebonyi States bring up its eastern boundary. Its population, according to recent estimate from the National Population Commission, stands at 3,267,837- (Male: 1,596,042; Female: 1,671,795).

In spite of its historical association with coal-mining, agriculture remains the main employer of labor in the State contributing significantly to the economy of the State. Yam tubers, palm produce and rice are the main agriculture produce. Until the discovery of oil in commercial quantities, coal had been the main mineral resource in the State.

Currently, the State owes its legal existence to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a State, it is constitutionally mandated to establish:

1.    an Executive arm of government headed by an elected Governor;

2. a legislative arm of government which members shall be drawn from constituencies defined in the Constitution. Its activities are presided over by a Speaker elected by the members of the State House of Assembly which oversees the exercise of the State’s legislative energies;

3. a judicial arm made up of judges, magistrates and other officers that help in the administration of justice and related activities within the State. The judicial arm is headed by the State’s Chief Justice. Nonetheless, judicial pronouncement of the State’s tribunals are subject to the appellate review of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in that order;

4. the Local Government level of governance within the State. Presently, the Nigerian Constitution prescribes 17 Local Government Areas for the State; and

5. and mobilize the powers of the State, the institutions and resources of  its arms and levels of government in order to secure a socio-economic environment for persons resident in the State and its other stakeholders to pursue legitimate goals in dignity under the State’s justice administration umbrella.

The Enugu State legal system comprises;

1. The compendium of Constitutional provisions applicable to the State as one of the 36 States that constitute the Nigerian Federation;

2. Laws made by the Federal Legislature applicable throughout the entire federation or specifically to Enugu State;
3. Laws made (or deemed to have been made), by the State’s legislature;
4. Laws made by Local Government Councils in the State;
5. Customary laws or other customs of the economic space applicable under the operations of the Laws;
6. Judicial precedents of the courts of the State and of appellate courts with jurisdictions over its tribunals  like the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria;
7. Judicial precedents of federation tribunals like the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Investments and Securities Tribunal and so on to the extent to which their mandates allow; and
8. Law enforcement institutions, law enforcement officers, judges, legal practitioners, judciary workers,  and other professionals and persons recognized at various levels as part of the justice administration complex of the State.

Sources of law for the Enugu State Legal System include:

1. The Constitution of Nigeria (including its amendments and other laws it refers to expressly as having the same character as provisions contained within the formal Constitutional document;
2. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria;
3. Legislations of the National Assembly applicable to Enugu State;
4. Legislations of the State House of Assembly;
5. Recognized customs of the people of Enugu State;
6. Judicial precedents of courts with judicial authority over Enugu State;
7. Local Government edicts.

ENUGU STATE BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS

LEGAL SYSTEMS OF THE FEDERATING UNITS OF NIGERIA – 37 STATES/FCT